''Shrink'' is a 2009 American

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

comedy-drama film about a psychiatrist who treats members of the

entertainment industry Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousan ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. It was directed by

Jonas Pate Jonas James Pate (born January 15, 1970) is an American screenwriter, director and producer. He wrote and directed '' The Grave'', '' Deceiver'', '' The Take'', and directed '' Shrink''. Pate also co-created '' Good vs Evil,'' ''Surface'' and ...

, written by Thomas Moffett, and stars

Kevin Spacey Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, obtaining supporting roles before gaining a leading man status in film and television. Spacey has received various accolade ...

and along with an

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast t ...

. The film premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and includes music by Jackson Browne.

Plot

In Hollywood, Psychiatrist Dr. Henry Carter (

): most of Carter's patients are luminaries in the

film industry The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, ...

, each undergoing their own life crisis. Carter lives in a large, luxurious house overlooking the

Hollywood Hills The Hollywood Hills are a residential neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Geography The Hollywood Hills straddle the Cahuenga Pass within the Santa Monica Mountains. The neighborhood touches Studio City, Un ...

and has published a hugely successful self-help book. However, he is disheveled and lives alone in his large house. He smokes marijuana at home, in his car and behind his office, when not seeing patients. Carter routinely drinks himself to sleep around his house, waking up in his clothes and never enters his bedroom. Despite his own problems, Carter continues psychotherapy with his patients, maintaining his incisiveness, compassion and strong doctor-patient relationships. Around some of Carter's patients, Patrick ( Dallas Roberts) is a high-powered talent agent who is both narcissistic and anxiety- ridden, with a germ phobia, Seamus (

Jack Huston Jack Alexander Huston (born 7 December 1982) is a British actor. He appeared as Richard Harrow in the HBO television drama series ''Boardwalk Empire''. He also had a supporting role in the 2013 film ''American Hustle'', portrayed the eponymous ...

) is an actor addicted to various drugs and alcohol, and one of Patrick's biggest clients, Seamus is not one of Carter's patients, but they share a drug-dealer named Jesus (

Jesse Plemons Jesse Plemons (; born April 2, 1988) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor and achieved a career breakthrough with his major role as Landry Clarke in the NBC drama series '' Friday Night Lights'' (2006–2011). He subsequ ...

). Jack Holden (

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

) is another popular celebrity with a drinking problem, about which he is in denial. He continues therapy, however, because he believes that he has a sex addiction. Kate (

Saffron Burrows Saffron Domini Burrows (born 22 October 1972) is an English actress and model who has appeared in films such as '' Circle of Friends,'' '' Wing Commander,'' '' Deep Blue Sea,'' '' Gangster No. 1,'' ''Enigma,'' '' Troy,'' ''Reign Over Me'' and '' ...

) is an actress in her thirties, who is intelligent, compassionate and poised, but is facing fewer career opportunities because of Patrick's notion that her age is a limitation. Her rock-star husband, who she says "wasn't always like this," is self-centered and cheating on her. Carter's newest patient, Jemma ( Keke Palmer) is a troubled high-school student, who is required to see a therapist by her school, after cutting her hand by punching a mirror. She is referred to Carter by his father as a pro bono case because like Carter's wife, Jemma's mother died by suicide. Jemma is an avid moviegoer who aspires to become a filmmaker. Carter has few friends, and spends time with Jesus, his quirky pot dealer. Carter also socializes with Jeremy ( Mark Webber) to whom he is loosely related through Carter's deceased wife, whose mother was Jeremy's godmother. Jeremy is a struggling young screenwriter who finds romantic interest in Patrick's assistant Daisy ( Pell James). Jeremy also derives creative inspiration from Jemma. Jeremy secretly steals Jemma's private file from Carter's office and pursues a platonic interest in Jemma. He writes his breakthrough

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, f ...

about Jemma, and with Daisy's help, Jeremy succeeds in gaining Patrick's interest in the screenplay. Carter suffers a breakdown on a live television talk show, alarming the host ( Gore Vidal) and the viewers when he states publicly for the first time that his wife died by suicide. He denounces his book as "bullshit" and himself as a fraud, and storms off of the set. Jemma, Daisy and Jeremy react to Carter's on-air outburst. Carter decides to stop treating Jemma, though he begins helping Jemma finally come to terms with her mother's suicide. Jemma discovers the screenplay and feels betrayed by Jeremy. Carter angrily attacks Jeremy for his deception, but accepts his own professional responsibility in the situation, which he unknowingly allowed. Later, Carter and Jeremy are mysteriously invited to a meeting at Patrick's office. Patrick seats them in a conference room, where Jemma is already waiting. To their surprise, Jemma now approves of Jeremy's screenplay. Patrick announces that he will be representing Jemma and making Jeremy's screenplay into a movie. Carter, having disposed of his drug supply, approaches Kate at home. He tells her he doesn't want to see her anymore "...professionally," implying his interest in seeing her romantically. She smiles. That night, Carter enters his bedroom, wearing pajamas. He momentarily regards his former marital bed, before climbing into it and turning off the light.

Cast

as Dr. Henry Carter *

as Kate Amberson * Keke Palmer as Jemma * Mark Webber as Jeremy *

as Shamus * Robert Loggia as Dr. Robert Carter, Henry's father * Pell James as Daisy *

as Jesus, Carter's pot dealer * Sierra Aylina McClain as Carina * Dallas Roberts as Patrick *

Ashley Greene Ashley Michele Greene Khoury (born February 21, 1987) is an American actress. She is known for playing Alice Cullen in the film adaptations of Stephenie Meyer's ''Twilight'' novels. Early life Greene was born on February 21, 1987, in Jack ...

as Missy * Laura Ramsey as Kiera * Gore Vidal as George Charles *

Jillian Armenante Jillian Armenante is an American television and film actress, known for playing the role of Donna Kozlowski on the TV show ''Judging Amy''. Life and career Armenante was born in Paterson, New Jersey, and grew up in Wyckoff, New Jersey. Her fe ...

as writer in Patrick's writer's room *

as Jack Holden (uncredited)

References

External links

* *
Shrink
' at

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

*
Shrink
' at Allmovie *
Shrink
' at

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shrink 2009 films 2009 comedy-drama films American independent films American comedy-drama films Films set in Los Angeles Films about psychiatry American films about cannabis Roadside Attractions films 2009 comedy films 2009 drama films 2009 independent films 2000s English-language films Films directed by Jonas Pate 2000s American films